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Rhode Island To Open First Medical Marijuana Dispensary

LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 7: Marijuana plants grow at Perennial Holistic Wellness Center, a not-for-profit medical marijuana dispensary in operation since 2006, on September 7, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. A group of activists has submitted about 50,000 signatures in an effort to force a referendum on the marijuana ordinance. A minimum of 27,425 valid signatures from registered voters is needed to let voters decide on the issue in March. The ban would not prevent patients or cooperatives of two or three people to grow their own in small amounts. Californians voted to legalize medical cannabis use in 1996, clashing with federal drug laws. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

Twenty states and Washington, D.C., now allow medical marijuana with a doctor's recommendation, and Washington state and Colorado have legalized the recreational pot use. Connecticut and Washington state already require testing and other states are doing the same, spawning a testing industry. (credit: David McNew/Getty Images)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island’s first medical marijuana dispensary is set to open in Providence.

The Thomas C. Slater Compassion Center on Corliss Street is expected to begin selling medicinal pot Friday. It received its state permit two weeks ago.

The dispensary initially will be selling marijuana cultivated by growers participating in the state’s medical marijuana program. The center’s managers say the dispensary will be growing its own marijuana that it plans to begin selling in August.

Two other medical marijuana dispensaries in Warwick and Portsmouth are expected to open within the next few months.

Rhode Island will become the second New England state after Maine to legally sell marijuana to patients.

The Slater Compassion Center’s website lists a variety of marijuana types and paraphernalia for sale.